Art of making digging-tools.



G. W. WESTER. ART (IF-MAKING DIGGING TOOLS.

APPLICATION FILED ocnzs. 1914.

Patented June 20, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l- WW i I mmm G. W. WESTER.

ART OF MAKING DIGGING TOOLS. APPLICATlON FILED on. 29. 1914.

Patented J1me 20, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- instead GEORGE W. WESTER, OF HARRIIVIAN, TENNESSEE,ASSIGNOR TO JOHN A. FZANLEY, TRUSTEE, OF HARRIMAN, TENNESSEE.

ART OF MAKING DIGGING-TOOLS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 2U, llg'ftl.

Application filed October 29, 1914.. Serial No. 869,255.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. I'Vnsrnn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Harriman, in the county of Roane and State of Tennessee,have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Art of Making Digging-Tools, of which the following is a specification, reference beinghad to the ac companying drawing.

My improvement relates particularly to art of making digging tools towhich the name, hoe, is ordinarily applied. The finished tool is acompound tool comprising two parts, one being a hoe blade similar to theblade of an ordinary hoe and the other part being a group of tines setparallel to each other and at the same angle to the handle as a hoeblade is ordinarily set. This part of the tool is known to the trade asa potato hoe.

The object of the improvement is to provide an economical method andblanks for the production of such tool.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of the toollooking toward and in the direction parallel to the handle of the tool;Fig. 2 is a section on the line, 22, of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan of acontinuous metal blank bar or plate out of which blank sections are cutfor making the tool; Fig. is a section on the line, 44, of Fig. 8; Fig.5 is a modification of the form shown in Fig. i; Fig. 6 is a plan of ablank section cut from the plate shown in Fig. 3; Fig. '7 is a viewshowing another form or mode of cutting blank sections out of the blankplate or bar; Fig. 8 is a view of a blank section cut from the blankshown by Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a front View of a completely cut blanksection formed from the bar section shown by Fig. 6; Fig. 10 is a viewof the same blank, looking toward the right, as shown inv Fig. 9; Fig.11 is a front View of a completely out blank of a modified form; Fig. 12is a view of the same blank, looking toward the right, as shown in Fig.11.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the tool comprises a shank, C, four hoetines, A, A, and a hoe blade, B, these parts being integral andpreferably formed out of a single piece of metal as hereinafterdescribed. The shank, C, is adapted to enter a socket in the end of thehandle, D. The hoe blade stands at one side of the axial line of theshank, C,

and is preferably inclined somewhat toward the handle, I). The group oftines stands at the opposite side of the shank axis. Said tines areparallel to each other and somewhat inclined toward the handle, I), asshown in the drawings. This makes a double or compound tool, as abovestated, one part being a potato hoe and the other being an ordinary hoeblade. The blade, B, may be turned toward the ground and used forcutting and digging; or the group of tines may be turned toward theground and used for digging and tearing the earth and plants. The twoportions of the tool may be used alternately, as best suited for thework to be done, the blade, 13, being best suited for cutting, while thetines are best suited for penetrating and tearing. The manufacture ofthis compound. tool will next be described. Referring to Figs. 3 and 4:,these figures show a blank plate or bar, E, which is continuous or ofindefinite length, and from which blank sections are to be cut, each ofwhich sections contain metal out of which the compound tool is to beformed with a minimum of labor and a minimum waste of metal. The blankbar or plate, E, is out transversely on the lines, F, F, to form asection blank. Said bar is to be rolled of suitable width and thicknessto adapt each blank section to provide in convenient form the amount ofmetal necessary to make the tool. The entire blank plate or bar is inthis manner cut into blank sections.

Referring now to Fig. 6, slits, G, G, are cut from the margin of theblank section to nearly the middle longitudinal line of said section;and slits, H, H, are cut from the adjacent end of said section to eachinner end of the slits, G, G. This separates the approximatelyrectangular fragments, I, I, from the blank section and leaves a stub,J, on the middle longitudinal line of the section. This stub contains asuitable amount of metal to form a shank, C; and said stub is forged toform such shank, this being preferably done without bending said stub.

From the opposite end. of the blank section, slits, L, L, are cutparallel to the length of the blank section and nearly to the line ofthe slits, G. The two outer ends of the slits L, are connected by shorttransverse slits, M, whereby fragments, N, N, are detached from theblank section. The two middle slits, L, are not thus connected. At

v a little less than a right angle.

each side of each space from which a fragment, N, is taken, a straightbar, O, is left. Between the two middle bars, 0, a relatively Wider baror tongue, P, is left. Between the bars, 0 and P, on one hand, and thestub, J,

on the other hand, a transverse head, K, is

left. The bars, .0, are bent to one side of the blank section plane,such bending being chiefly close to the head, K, and being far enough toput the bars a little beyond or across a plane which is perpendicular tothe blank section plane and cuts the latter adj acent the base of thebars,O, so that the angle r of the width of the finished tool, in orderthat the bars, 0, may require a minimum amount of labor and treatment toform the finished tines.

. Thebar or tongue, P, is bent out of the plane of the blank section atthe side of the latter opposite the tines, A, A, the bending beingchiefly close tothe head, K, and said bar, P, is preferably bent farenough to make the angle between it and the shank, C, And said bar ortongue, P, is forged and otherwise treated to form a hoe blade, B, whichis wide relative to the width of the tongue, P. Said hoe blade ispreferably formed like the blades of ordinary hoes used for cultivatinggardens, etc, and said hoe blade may be of such size relative to thegroup of tines, A, A, as the work to be done by the tool seems todemand. hen the tool is finished, the stem of the hoe blade standsopposite the space between the middle tine bars.

The portion, Q,'of the blank plate or bar, E, which will lie between themiddle slits, L, L, of the blank sections and forms the tongue, P, maybe and preferably is of such thickness as to put into the bar or tongue,P, the amount of metal, and no more, needed to form the finished hoeblade. In Fig. 4, the portion, Q, is made thicker at one side of theplate or bar than the thickness of the body of said plate or bar. InFig. 5, said portion, Q, is thickened at both sides of the plate or bar.7 It will be observed that thus providing in said bar or tongue, P, theprecise amount'of metal required for forming the hoe blade economizesboth labor and material.

--In Fig. 7, the transverse cuts, E, are

Copies of this patent may be obtained for not continuous. Each such cutextends from the edge of the bar to the portion, Q, and is then offsetalong and across the part, Q, so

as to put a stub, J, on one end of the blank section. But thiscorrespondingly shortens the bar or tongue, P, and for that reason thisportion of the blank bar must be thickened sufficiently to compensatefor this shortening of said bar or tongue. Making the cuts, E, E, in themanner last above described avoids making the waste fragments, I, I,shown in Fig. (l.

I claim as my invention,

1. In the art described, a metal blank section cut from a flat bar tocomprise a transverse head, a stub 011 one side of said head, a tongueon-thc opposite side of said head and at the middle of said section, andtine bars on said head at opposite sides of said tongue, substantiallyas described.

:2. In the art described, a metal blank secti on cut from a Hat bar tocomprise a trans- I verse head, a stub on one side of said head,

a tongue on the opposite side of said head and at the middle of saidsection, and tine bars on said head at opposite sides of said tongue,said tongue containing more metal than any of said tine bars,substantially as described.

3. In the art described, a metal blank secbars on said head at oppositesides of said tongue, said tongue and said stub being thicker than thetine bars, substantially as described.

4. The herein described method of forming the compound tool hereindescribed, which method consists in forming a metal blank section ofapproximately the width of the finished tool and having at one end astub, shaping the stub to form a shank, slitting said section parallelto its side edges to form a middle tongue and tine bars, bending thetine bars to one side of the plane of the blank section and finishingthem as tines and bending the tongue to the other side of said plane andexpanding and finishing it as a hoe blade, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name, in presence of twowitnesses, this 27th day of October, in the year one thousand ninehundred and fourteen.

GEORGE W. ESTER.

.Vitnesses:

H. P. S'rnln'nn, CYRUS Kin-In.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington,D. C.

